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About

C. M. Pieters is a pioneering planetary scientist whose career has fundamentally shaped our understanding of the Moon’s surface composition and evolution. Her research focuses on lunar geology, visible and infrared spectroscopy, and the effects of space weathering on airless bodies. Pieters’ major contributions include leading the development of the ROLO photometric model, which provides a critical wavelength-dependent calibration standard for lunar remote sensing across 0.347–2.39 μm—a tool cited over 49 times and used globally for spacecraft data correction. She also advanced the study of space weathering in lunar soils, demonstrating how maturity alters optical properties like albedo and absorption features. Her work on landing site characterization for the Luna 17, Chang’E-3, and MoonRise missions has guided sample return priorities, including the South Pole-Aitken basin. As Principal Investigator of NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer mission, a pioneering small satellite selected in 2019, she is now leading efforts to map water distribution and the lunar water cycle. With over 100 citations across her key papers, Pieters’ legacy lies in bridging laboratory spectroscopy, photometric modeling, and mission science to unlock the Moon’s geological history.